The invention relates to a cutting device for container packaging equipment which automatically cuts a plastic strip which serves as a carrier for packaging together a plurality of cans, and more particularly relates to a cutting device which is variable to permit partitioning of connected cans into packages of four, six, eight, or multiples thereof.
Plastic strip carriers which elastically receive the tops of beer and soft-drink cans are used for packaging the cans into four packs, six packs, eight packs or the like. In packaging equipment, the plastic strip is applied to the tops of the can containers as the containers move along a conveyor. The strip holding the containers must be severed to provide identical multipacks of cans.
In some cases, the plastic strip is perforated so that the packages may be separated from the continuous array of connected cans. In other cases, the strip is cut by a pair of blades which are mechanically driven from the outer sides of the cans toward the central area of the strip. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,383,828 and 3,204,386.
High production quotas in the refreshment industry have necessitated the continual movement of the containers through the packaging stage of the production process. Therefore, it is highly desirable to speed up the packaging procedure as much as possible.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which automatically partitions a continuously moving array of paired connected cans into separate discrete units.
It is yet another object of the present invention, to provide a strip cutoff assembly which cooperates with a moving conveyor to partition an array of paired connected cans moving along the conveyor.